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PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 10:52 pm 
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Hakeem928 wrote:
Hakeem928 wrote:
Here is the list to which I was alluding:

4 x Azorius Guildgate
11 x Island
10 x Plains

4 x Cloudshift

4 x Think Twice
4 x Voyage's End
3 x Wall of Omens

3 x Guard Gomozoa
3 x Dissolve
2 x Mentor of the Meek

4 x Archaeomancer
2 x Talrand, Sky Summoner

1 x Baneslayer Angel
1 x Time Warp

2 x Planar Cleansing

1 x Sphinx-Bone Wand

1 x Kozilek, Butcher of Truth


There's so much synergy in this deck that it's unreal. The core of the deck is the Archaeomancer plus Cloudshift combo which really lets you abuse Talrand and the Wand.

Don't be afraid to Cloudshift your Walls early because Archaeomancer gets them back, and shifting a Wall with Mentor in play is a two-mana instant-speed Divination. I'm not going to list all the interactions and synergies, but trust me you'll learn them as you play the deck. It's really powerful and a lot of fun.

If you want the original mobius version then sub out the playset of Voyage's End for Brimaz, King of Oreskos and three copies of Reprisal; I don't recommend it though, because Reprisal is a lategame card and is often dead in hand.


To anyone who has tried this, what do you think of swapping out Kozilek for a Resolute Archangel? It lowers the curve, has a very relevant EtB for a slow deck, and has lots of synergy with Cloudshift. I'm thinking of making the swap.


With all of that draw, in particular the potential for very fast draw, wouldn't Chasm Skulker have nice synergy here?


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 10:58 pm 
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I REALLY like this build Hakeem!

As far as the synergy with skulker, I don't feel it makes the cut man. It will be prime target for removal and you're not able to save it with cloudshift as it loses the counters.

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Last edited by 2bestest on Thu Jul 31, 2014 1:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 11:36 pm 
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Cool! When you mentioned you were going to fool around with White/Blue, I was really looking forward to it! You didn't disappoint, either- Cloudshift is so good.

I think Skulker would be a good fit, but you'd probably have to give up the Gomozoa's for it and as 2best said, you can't reliably protect it without making room for some Negate's as well.

Hakeem: I really think Brimaz deserves a spot, though. His double-white cost may be his only weak spot which is practically neligible in dual with guild gates. I don't like Reprisal for the same reason I don't lile Assassinate, but I think I'll cut just one Voyage's End for Brimaz, and Kozilek for Resolute Archangel since I like the focus to be on the Sphinx Wand. (Too often with Grixis, I win with just Kozzy.)

You should maybe keep posting mobius's lists on here as well. :angel:


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 7:38 am 
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If he shares a list with me, I'll certainly share it with you guys. I haven't spoken to him about the changes I've made, so I don't know his opinion on them, but from playing the deck I like it better this way.

Brimaz is fine, and obviously powerful, but I just don't think the deck needs him. mobius had him in, though.

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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 9:58 am 
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I'm currently running 7 decks, so thought I'd post them here for anyone interested.

Blueshift

12 x Plains
9 x Island
3 x Azorius Guildgate

4 x Cloudshift
3 x Wall of Omens
3 x Lone Missionary
2 x Mentor of the Meek
2 x Seance
4 x Kor Cartographer
2 x Resolute Archangel
4 x Voyage's End
2 x Talrand, Sky Summoner
4 x Archaeomancer
1 x Time Warp
3 x Switcheroo
2 x Sphinx-Bone Wand


If anyone's followed my posts on the forums, this is the finished version a deck I was mainly hyping pre-release. ETB abuse with Cloudshift and Seance, plus casting benefits with the Wand and Talrand. The main engine is flickering an Archaeomancer repeatedly and either drawing lots of cards with the Mentor, generating tons of Drakes with Talrand, or doing increasingly lethal damage with the wand.

A little fragile, as there's so many moving parts that I found it hard to put in counterspells. I'm still undecided between Voyage's End and Negates, but went with the bounce as they can protect one of my creatures from removal for the same cost, retrigger the ETB when recast, and also, crucially, dealy with an enemy creature, if only for a turn. I can also remove creatures by repeatedly pulling back Switcheroo via Seance and trading the token, which is my other win condition. It's also relatively easy to string together a lot of turn via the same method.

If I go off, I can win in a turn or two, and there's very little anyone can do to stop it. I've also made a later Selesnya deck off the same white core, and it's actually a better, more powerful example of a Seance deck. While very important here, this exploits and relies more on Cloudshift than anything.



Ran into Stevo in randoms last night and got murdered by this deck, so I had to build my own. I played about 15 matches with it and only a r/b discard deck gave me any real problems. (But then the first game I mulled to 5 and the second he played that creature that randomly rips 3 cards from your hand after filling it and it snagged both Talrands and a bonewand :roll:)

I started with my American deck as a starting point *hint - not one comment on that one guys, could use constructive criticism for my first posted build...*. I ended up with some different choices than above and dropped all of my bounce. I miss my bounce but I don't find it necessary any more, in part becuase of how amazing switcheroo is here. I also found that seance never found itself wanting to be played. Didn't even know about the resolute since I never endangered Stevo's life. I also toyed with Time Warp but found it unnecessary, which says something.

I looooooove playing this deck but rarely get a game two from anyone.........

So my build is:
-1 island, + 1 gate
- 3 lone missionary
-2 seance
-2 resolute archangel
- 4 voyage's end
-1 Time Warp

+ 4 Raise the Alarm
+ 4 Negate
+ 4 Think Twice


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 11:57 am 
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Glad you're having fun! My build is a little different now as I've made a few changes from the one posted to the one you encountered. It may evolve further, but the core will stay the same.

I've swapped an Archangel for a Baneslayer (didn't want to, but it's just too much of a value card) and the Voyages for Guard Gomoazoa's and an extra Missionary. Very little control in my build, but the Cloudshifts often stifle any removal I care about, and I just straight up steal the creatures or build up enough defences that they don't matter. I only run three gates as my game has the Ravnica glitch, and I'm down one. :(

If you go more control-heavy, then there's a lot in my build that's open to change. The Switcheroos work wonders with Seance (pulling Archaeomancers, then trading the useless token) but obviously there's a full set of them and Archaeomancers, so it can be overkill, but it can also get you on a Time Warp train too. I still think it's a great element of the deck (and good for recovering burnt Cloudshifts too) but Seance is more of subtheme than the core.

Epic game we had, I have to say, as it was a kind-of mirror match, but with you adding a splash of Red. One of the closest and most complex matches I've had yet on D15. To say you got murdered doesn't do your play justice. I was worried throughout!


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 1:59 pm 
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Honestly Stevo I gave the original build you posted a try and seance never did anything for me really and I had it almost every game. However I won the few games I played and they were all won the same way. I almost got murdered but pulled a win out with talrand, archeo, and shift. That combo is stupid strong.

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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 3:04 pm 
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I mainly like it for a few reasons;

1) It gives me extra lifegain with the Missionaries, and draw if the Mentor is out, as almost everything is 2 toughness.
2) Pulling back Cartographers is free, extra ramp (and crucially in Plains which I need for the combo)
3) If there's a Switcheroo in the graveyard, dead Archaeomancers basically become creature theft without a drawback (as the token exiles)
4) If there's a Time Warp, dead Archaeomancers can get me a series of free turns, which can put the game away.
5) I can be more free with Cloudshift to defend in the early game, as again, with the Archaeomancers, they get a second shot at getting it back.

It isn't essential, I agree, but it does add another element to it. My Green/White deck is my main Seance deck, and it works much better there.


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 3:47 pm 
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I am fully aware of the perks it could provide, I just never needed it in the games I played with the build. I didn't get a ton of bouts under my belt with it however so that could be why. But I did have the card available just about every match I did play.

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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 4:23 pm 
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2bestest wrote:
I am fully aware of the perks it could provide, I just never needed it in the games I played with the build. I didn't get a ton of bouts under my belt with it however so that could be why. But I did have the card available just about every match I did play.


It's mainly insurance. The deck can be quite powerful, bit it can also just refuse to draw the combo pieces. Over a series of games I had enough times like that where I needed the extra staying power, as with the deck being mainly made of 2 PT creatures, you can't push through a win or survive long without the combo.

If you pulled off the combo in time in all those games, that's excellent, but not completely representative of a lot of games you'll have with it in the long run where it completely fails to give you anything to work with. I've had plenty! :)


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 4:47 pm 
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I am sure of it. :P

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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 8:43 pm 
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Mother. Of. God.

Hakeem, I just saw this list and my mind is spinning with all of the combinations that it can play. I'll definitely be testing this one soon.


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 10:08 pm 
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It's a great deck, but full credit to mobius for this concept. I just tweaked a few slots after playing with it, and I could very well be wrong. Try it out and report back.

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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 10:33 pm 
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Initial tests were pretty good. I 5-0'd some randoms on Steam, but that's not difficult to do with most decks. There were a few concerns that I had though.

The early game was pretty dicey. If you don't draw into the walls then you're very vulnerable to tokens/aggro. I mulled down to five one game against tokens just to make sure that I had a wall in hand. I did go on to win the game after stalling long enough to cast a Planar Cleansing, but without that Guard Gomazoa I think it would have been a loss. I'm going to try putting Brimaz back in and test how it does with him. I think it will help quite a bit. We'll see how it does with -1 Voyage's End +1 Brimaz

Card draw can be a bit of an issue at times. A couple of games I had to Cloudshift a Wall of Omens just to get more answers in my hand. I understand that the Archaeomancers bring Cloudshift back, so that's not a huge deal, but if you don't draw into any card draw you're going to have a bad time. I'd love to fit a couple of Inspirations in, but I honestly don't think it's going to be possible. Maybe I should mulligan more aggressively for draw.

Once the engine gets going, the deck can't be stopped. Two games out of the five I ended uptaking several additional turns. The combos are too strong in this deck to stop if you can get them out and protect them.

Overall I love the deck. It's a very fun combo to play, and people don't see it coming.

Editing in an example of trickery from this last game: Playing a Rakdos, he tried Ulcerating my Archaeomancer. Having two Cloudshifts in hand, I used one in response to save the Archaeomancer, and brought back a Dissolve from my graveyard. I then used the Dissolve on the Griselbrand that I'd bounced the previous turn. There really are so many options available to you once the engine is in place.

Edit #2: Another 5-0 run. Brimaz is performing very well. With just him and a wall out, it stops tokens dead in their tracks. Just played a U/G self-mill spider deck. He ran three copies of Spider Spawning. All three were countered from his hand, then countered again from his graveyard. Unreal synergy in this deck.


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PostPosted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 9:50 am 
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Hakeem928 wrote:
It's a great deck, but full credit to mobius for this concept.


This I have to address. I posted a deck that innovated that combo core when the card pool was released months before and Mobius had a meltdown accusing my builds of being garbage theory craft in an unknown metagame. Now he's running the same core and taking credit for it? Hilarious.

I was the first on the forums to post and detail that core. I'm not saying It's not something that a lot of people could and would independently stumble on, so would never seek to take credit for it, but if anyone was in the business of taking "full credit" for this, the last person would be Mobius.


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PostPosted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 10:06 am 
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Let's all talk behind his back!


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PostPosted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 10:13 am 
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So let me see if I got this straight. Stevo and Mobius never got along which eventually lead to Mobius permanent ban and I suppose Hakeem928 in particular dislikes Stevo because he is friends with Mobius and shares his same line of thinking. So is this why we have bickering in about a dozen threads trying to mask it as intellectual discussion of deck lists?


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PostPosted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 10:15 am 
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Hakeem928 wrote:
It's a great deck, but full credit to mobius for this concept.


This I have to address. I posted a deck that innovated that combo core when the card pool was released months before and Mobius had a meltdown accusing my builds of being garbage theory craft in an unknown metagame. Now he's running the same core and taking credit for it? Hilarious.

I was the first on the forums to post and detail that core. I'm not saying It's not something that a lot of people could and would independently stumble on, so would never seek to take credit for it, but if anyone was in the business of taking "full credit" for this, the last person would be Mobius.


It was Mobius' exact build, that is why we were crediting him. Not because of the combo element. I have been credited for the RDW deck because it is the most efficient, did I come up with the concept. No a monkey can see that cheap red spells make for a good deck but the specific configuration was all me. Same principle here, the biggest improvement is actually guard gomozoa as it fills a lot of holes. It was a card I had not thought of until Mobius mentioned it.


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PostPosted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 10:22 am 
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Sure, I appreciate that, but if you read the posts, I feel the element most people were complimenting was the combo that comprised of Archaeomancer, Cloudshift, Mentor of the Meek and Sphinx-Bone Wand, not side elements like the fact he'd substituted Seances for Planar Cleansings.

I am making the effort not to feud or be disruptive, but that felt a little to egrarious for me to stand considering the person taking credit was the person who had rubbished it so completely in the past. I was also unaware he'd been banned, which possibly explains a few things.

I won't comment again on this as I don't want to start a fight, and I'm not seeking ownership of a concept, but I'm sure you can understand why under those circumstances I felt the need to clarify things, even if I was maybe a little too hasty. If I've got the wrong end of the stick, then I apologise, but "full credit" is a strong term.


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PostPosted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 10:29 am 
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For what it's worth does it really matter who came up with a combo or who made what variation? It's a relatively small pool so it's not like a combo is going to stay hidden forever. Let's all just be happy *someone* brought it up so we can discuss and refine a new way of building a deck.

...besides everyone knows I did that stupid combo back on page 2 of this very thread. Now fall to your knees and venerate me!

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